Category: How To Differentiate

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The Introverts Super Selling Powers with Beth Beulow #235

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The Introverts Super Selling Powers with Beth Beulow #235

In this episode we meet Beth Beulow, author, business coach, speaker and host of the Introvert Entrepreneur Podcast. Beth is a avid proponent of the introverts super selling powers. She believes when introverts can leverage their natural gifts of listening, preparation, making people feel safe, and see selling as an educational process, they can be highly successful in sales.

Introverts, Extraverts and Ambiverts

We discussed the book To Sell Is Human by Dan Pink on the success of various personality types in the selling role. According to the book:
  • Extraverts – performed the least, too pushy, too aggressive
  • Introverts – performed better, good listeners, yet too meek
  • Ambiverts – converted sales best, a bit of both extraverts and introverts, most successful
lf you’re not connecting with the buyer it could be a lack of balance in the conversation. When you have resonance, that’s powerful selling. Not all great conversations close sales. The timing maybe wrong.  But remember, it’s a marathon not a sprint. At the very least you might get a referral.

Introvert Super Duper Sales Powers

Introverts commonly have the following characteristics. They can be powerfully leveraged for selling:
  • Sales is education. It’s only a story that sales is icky. Share what you have to offer with a focus to make their lives better (whether or not they buy).
  • Connecting one on one. Introverts commonly say they are NOT good in groups, but good one-on-one.  This is actually a super power. Sales is P2P,  person to person. If you can connect with a person, you can make a sale.
  • Listen with curiosity. Many introverts are very good at sitting back and asking questions. This is how you discover what the client needs.
  • Create safety – create an environment where people can open up. You can do this by being real and allowing people the ability to be vulnerable.
  • Preference for preparation – There is power in doing homework and researching to make sure the meeting is more productive. For many, preparation calms the nerves.
Know how you’re going to start. Know how you’re going to close and be open to how you get there. Trust yourself.

Take Action

Look at your website and ask the question, “is this differentiated from the rest? Or do I look like everyone else?”   Remember that a confused mind always says no.

How to Find Beth Beulow

You can  find Beth ALL over the internet! This is the free offer mentioned during the podcast:

Overcoming Sales Fears for Introverts

Selling For Introverts with Alen Mayer #61
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Telling Your Sales Story with Tom Jackobs #233

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Telling Your Sales Story with Tom Jackobs #233

In this episode we meet Tom Jackobs. Tom is a former fitness trainer, business owner and now story teller. Tom and I discuss the value and power of using stories when selling. Tom talks about ways to find stories that best represent you telling your sales story. Secondly Tom shares how to structure the story in a way that makes it memorable, insightful, and impactful.

The Hero Journey

Tom went from fat to fit. Through his fitness journey he discovered his ability to educate people. He started a personal training studio in 2008. Despite facing near bankruptcy, with the help of a family business loan, he learned how to Up his selling skills. When sharing his fitness story prospects identified with the tail and were persuaded to join. Tom’s business grew from in $100K to $500K revenue in less than a year. The rest is history.

How To Find a Good Business Story

Find impact moments in your life. Big or small, write them all down. Next, pick the top three that are the most emotionally charged. Write out the story as a hero’s journey. The story should contain:

  • Troubles you experienced
  • Insightful moments
  • What lead up to the challenges
  • Who helped
  • The villains
  • How it turned out
  • What your audience would learn from it

Get the audience to see themselves in your story. Add details, “it was a rainy gray Thursday and …. ” . Once the stories are written practice, practice, practice.

Take Action Now

Don’t be afraid to tell your emotionally charged story. This is how you make a connection. This how you make sales.

How To Find Tom Jackobs

Website – www.TomJackobs.com
Twitter @tomjackobs
Facebook tom.jackobs
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/trainertom/
youtube: youtube.com/c/tomjackobs

Stories That Sell Training: www.AlwaysBeSellingSystem.com/webinar
Impact Sales System: www.ImpactSalesSystem.com/training

Past Episodes on Storytelling Selling

Let’s keep the conversation going. Here are past episodes to take your selling skills to the next level. Listen now!

SB032 – How Sellers are the Plucky Sidekick an Interview with Aprille Janes

 

Image Message Story. An Interview with Heidi Thorne

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Honesty Sells with Colleen Francis #223

Colleen Francis Sales Babble

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Colleen Francis Sales BabbleHonesty Sells with Colleen Francis #223

Colleen Francis is the Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions and the author of Nonstop Sales Boom and Honesty Sells. Colleen is a successful sales leader for over 20 years, well versed on the challenges of selling in today’s market. She is a Certified Sales Professional (C.S.P.) and an inductee into the Speaking Hall of Fame.  In this episode we discuss the necessity of honest selling and advice on how sellers can build trust with transparency.

What Makes for Honesty Sells

  1. Trust is built on honoring your word in all you do. Keeping promises matters.
  2. Prove honesty through voice mail e.g., promise you will call them back at a set time, then do it
  3. If you made a promise and have no news, make the call and share you have no news
  4. Customer experience is the key differentiator
  5. Have a culture of honesty in your organization. It will spread to your client interactions.
  6. Always apologize when you make an error. Coddle them with kindness. Own it.
  7. The top performers (upper 10%) have a culture of honesty.
  8. Don’t over promise and under deliver
  9. Don’t under promise and over deliver
  10. Honor your word

Take Action Advice

Make sure you’re creating an open transparent organization, both inside a team and outside of the team. Next make sure the sales team starts telling customers exactly what they are going to do, then doing it. Meet your committments!

How To Find Colleen Francis

Books Mentioned 

Nonstop Sales Boom and Honesty Sells. 

Consultative Selling

Here are some previous episodes on the power of honest selling.

 

 

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Sales Jokes That Don’t Fall Flat with Jon Selig #195

Jon Selig Sales Jokes Sales Babble

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Jon Selig Sales Jokes Sales BabbleSales Jokes That Don’t Fall Flat with Jon Selig #195

There  are parallels between sales, improv and stand up comedy. Unfortunately sales jokes can fall flat and jeopardize a deal. In this episode Jon Selig shares advice on how to employ comedy to connect, build relationships and win deals.

Sales and Comedy

Each sales call has elements of standup. Open strong, close strong, probe the audience for their pain. display confidence. First you need to sell them on you. A simple  self deprecating joke is safe.

Craft jokes specifically for a prospect’s pains and challenges within their industry. It is very easy to offend and alienate your prospect.  You only need to offend one person on a team to lose a deal.

  • Don’t push anyone down
  • Don’t marginalize anyone
  • Don’t mock popular sentiments
  • Be as politically correct as you can

Have empathy and put yourself in your customer’s shoes. If you do that you won’t cross the line and have your sales jokes fall flat.

Improv in Sales

Frame your message within the problems and desires of your prospects. Be positive with the other person, respect them.

  • Answer the question  your prospects ask
  • Listen for the question, address it square on
  • Use the improv framework of Yes And
  • Accept what you hear and go with it.
  • Show how your solution will address their pains and challenges

Take Action Plan

Write more. Set aside time, express your thoughts in  1-3 pages. Stream what’s going on in your head. Discover your goals, then work it into your sales presentations. The key is to be relatable.

How to Find Jon Selig

You can find Jon Selig online and at a comedy club near you in Central America!

Website: jonselig.com
TW: @jonselig
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonselig/
IG: ImprobableComic
EMAIL: jon@jonselig.com

Jon also raises funds with Comedy Abroad, which produces live English stand-up comedy fundraisers in Latin America. 

Sales Babble Sales Jokes

Go here www.salesbabble.com/jokes 

Building Rapport in Sales

There are other ways to build rapport other than jokes. Here are past episodes. Listen today!

 

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Why Do I Need a Brand with Kim Speed

Kim Speed Sales Babble

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Kim Speed Sales BabbleWhy Do I Need a Brand?

In this episode brand expert Kim Speed digs deep into the  question “Why do I need a brand?” Everyone says having a brand is critical for success. But is it? What is the fundamental value branding provides you and your company? How does a brand make it easier for you to acquire new customers and prospects? That’s the topic for today!

Brand vs Branding

According to Kim, your brand is who you are and what people say about you when you’re not in the room. Branding is all the elements that supports your brand: website, ads, emails, logos etc…   Let’s focus on the former, before the latter.

Sales and Branding

Your brand is useful for your sales process. When done well it open doors and creates trust.  But it’s not an easy path to understand your brand. It’s built on knowing and viscerally understanding your ideal client. This requires companies to go through a value proposition process. Instead of focusing on logos and fonts, focus on who is PERFECT for you product or service.

Who Is Kim Speed

Kim is the owner of Purple Moon Creative, Branding and Marketing Boutique where she helps start-up companies and small business owners to become visible to their prospects, and to turn those prospects into clients.

Kim is the author of the recently published book, Branding on a Shoestring: How to Re-Create Your Small Business Identity and Increase Sales Results in 83 Days or Less.  Go here to get it purplemooncreative.com      and answer the question “why do I need a brand!”

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The Art of the Help with Larry Levine #182

Larry Levine Sales Babble

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Larry Levine Sales Babble The Art of the Help with Larry Levine #182

In this episode we start by discussing the confusion of social selling. The root issue is not so much how to twiddle the knobs and bells of LinkedIn Facebook and Twitter. The true issue is the failure of sales professionals understanding WHY they have chosen the profession of sales  Then secondly we talk about the Art of the Help for success.  Larry Levine is a social selling expert, podcast host and long time B2B sales expert.

Self Awareness in Sales

Most sellers don’t reflect on their lives, what motivates them and why they do what they do. They aren’t self aware. During the discussion Larry and I chat ….

  • Why are you in sales?
  • Larry believes there is a ton of confusion with social selling
  • It’s the Art of the Help he shares….. giving back to the community and your clients
  • Sellers must brand themselves Larry recommends. This will differentiate you.
  • Larry reminds us that “Selling is 24×7 job”

Why Sales is a Great Profession

  • Get to run your own business
  • Freedom
  • Good money
  • Can have a positive impact on your company
  • Can influence your customers

Social Selling is NOT New

Not a new thing, back in the day it was all analog but still the same thing. Connecting with people and relationship building. Just like we used to do with handshakes and phone calls. You do the same thing  on social media. It’s the art of the help, not the deal.

Take Action Today

If you want to have any success opening up new conversations you need to learn how to build a brand. Your personal brand differentiates you. You are broadcasted across the internet, manage that story.

 

Complete the Selling Survey

Click HERE!

How To Find Larry Levine

Twitter – @larry1levine
instagram – @larry1levine

Other Links Mentioned

Support our Sponsor Bluehost

Sales babble is brought to you by Bluehost. Take your idea and start your business online. Sales Babblers can start for only $3.95/month

  • FREE Domain
  • Free Site Builders
  • 1-Click WordPress Install
  • 24×7 support

Special intro offer and 30-day money-back guarantee
Powering over 2 million websites worldwide

 

Selling Mindset

Here are other past episodes that cover the topic of mindset. Listen today!

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Authority Selling with Mike Saunders #133

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mike-saunders-of-marketing-huddleAuthority Selling with Mike Saunders

We live in a competitive world with many customers vying for our clients. You need to stand out to be heard. In this episode we talk about how to be an authority in your industry and how to use that gravitas when selling. Our guest is Mike Saunders. Mike is the founder of Marketing Huddle. Mike helps small business owners and entrepreneurs with their digital marketing and building their authority brand. Mike has a new book titled “Authority Selling” and we talk at length on how to do that very thing.

You Are an Authority

You may not fully appreciate it, but you’re an authority in your industry. You know things others don’t.  You have experiences that others would value. Furthermore, you have knowledge your competition lacks.  Authority is what differentiates you and your business from the competition. With this authority, place yourself in a position to share:

  • podcast interviews
  • author books
  • participate live media
  • blog
  • author magazine articles

Picture the possibility of creating custom content focused on various aspects of your business.  As Mike put it “Sales people have brochures, experts have books”.  Creating content confirms in your own mind your own expertise.  Mike believes books or an interview can be a cost effective way to build authority. In his words “Corral your knowledge at a focused audience”.

How to Become an Author of a Book

Mike believes that books authored in an interview style are a quick way to produce content that is easy to create and readable. He shared an example of this process with a story of his client a chiropractor: creating a topic, discussing content, interviewing, transcripts, building the graphics of the book and marketing. His client now has a book that separates him from the competition. He literally wrote the book on pain management.

Where to Find Mike Saunders

You can find Mike all over the web….

This was my interview on Mike’s podcast on Qualifying Prospects with the SORT method

Sales and Marketing Alignment

Here are some other episodes that focus on using marketing to generate leads.  Check them out!

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Sales For Start-ups with Mano Behera

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Mano BeheraSales For Start-ups with Mano Behera

In this episode we talk about the many ways the skills of selling can help startups. In this 100th episode we meet Mano Behera, marketing entrepreneur and owner of the Digital Restaurant. Mano shows how he used sales techniques before marketing to understand his ideal client. This entire  episode is focused on sales for start-ups. 

Start-up Business Market Research

  1. Don’t assume, validate
  2. Use sales to validate your assumptions.  
  3. Ask the target market segment:
    1. What are you problems?
    2. What services should I provide that you would value?
    3. Listen and get the answer.

Really listen  well to what they’re saying then create services and products to address their needs.

No Marketing Until Sales

Mano sells marketing services to restaurants. Naturally  he tried marketing before selling his services, but it didn’t work.  Once he started using selling and qualifying questions to understand the restaurants, everything fell into place.

What his study found:  They tried marketing but it didn’t work. They did an unfocused shotgun approach. What they needed was all inclusive marketing plan. That’s what Mano’s Digital Restaurant provides. 

Cold Call  Sales Technique 

This is Mano’s script when he drops by a restaurant in the middle of the day

  • “My name is Mano I have a  background  in restaurants. I worked at McDonald’s for many years  but right now I’m an entrepreneur and I would love to hear what your challenges are.  Based on my experience I should be able to create a solution to boost the number of guests in your restaurant
  • This pitch was  enough for a restaurant owner to say great I’ll give you 15 minutes .  At that meeting  he asks about their marketing challenges and general state of the business. 

Need to show value in 30-90 days

Small restaurants with limited budgets need to see additional traffic, more conversions, more orders quickly. Once you make the sale, it’s time to deliver.

How To Find Mano Behera

Mano Behera | LinkedIn

The Digital Restaurant
Effective Restaurant Marketing For Consistent Profits!
Discover the effective way for restaurants and pizzerias to fine-tune their marketing mix for consistent profits.

Mano Behera (@mbehera) on Twitter

SWC is Self Paced Sales Course

You too can learn sales today!

  • Be yourself, add value , make sales

This course teaches you …

You will get:

  • Video, Audio, Checklists, Handouts and Worksheets that hold your hand
  • Work at your own pace, focus on what’s most important to you
  • Lifetime subscription to all material
  • Private Facebook group

You can enroll in the course here and immediately start Selling With Confidence today.

 

 

 

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How to Create Value During a Sale with George Iacullo #91

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head shot 20150628How to Create Value During a Sale with George Iacullo

In this episode we meet  George Iacullo to babble about how to create value during a sale.  George is a sales director for Westcon, a global IT distributor.  According to his bio George:

  • Been sales  all his life
  • Last 16 years in technology
  • Expertise and passion  developing sales team training programs
  • Guest speaker on emerging sales processes

Four Value Drivers for creating Value in a sale

  1. Helping your customers with an unrecognized problem
    1. Ask questions to generate insight into client
    2. Provide insight into customers of your prospects
    3. Presenting a solution they did not anticipate
  2. Present an unanticipated solution
  3. Unseen opportunity
    1. You’ve created
    2. You’ve revealed
  4. Acting as a broker of capabilities
    1. What your company brings to the table
    2. World of mass customization – sales people need to understand  just like every iPhone is slightly different, so to are customers
    3. Provide  differentiation … beyond products and services by partnering with internal  organizations: support, services, marketing.

Take action today

  • Look around your organization
  • What don’t you  feel 100% about it?
  • Go talk to that person
  • Get to know your OWN company

 

How to Find George Iacullo

Twitter  (@giacullo)

LinkedIn  www.linkedin.com/in/georgeiacullo

American Association of Inside Sales Professionals

Selling With Confidence

Go  here to find  Sales Babble resources:

  • How to prospect for new clients
  • How to qualify clients
  • How to ask great questions
  • How to give a presentation the persuades
  • How to close a deal
  • How to stay organized
  • How to overcome your fear of sales

Go here for free advice from our Sales Babble guests!

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How to Differentiate when Selling a Commodity with Lee Salz #88

Lee Salz Sales Babble

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Lee Salz Differentiates Commodities How to Differentiate when Selling a Commodity with Lee Salz #88

Lee Salz is a leading sales management strategist and bestselling author of  #1 rated sales management book on Amazon for 2014. “Hire Right, Higher Profits”.  Today we talk about how to differentiate when selling a commodity. 

Lee specializes in transitioning sales teams from “people-based” to “process-based” and he does this by leveraging differentiation. Lee is a featured columnist in the Business Journal, a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Sales & Marketing Management magazine and is the Program Advisor to Kansas State University’s National Strategic Sales Institute.

How to Differentiate when Selling a Commodity

In this episode  we talk about things that you can do to standout when you’re selling commodities and how to work around price and actually charge a premium. Lee shares practical examples with proven results across a wide range of industries. 

Lee told a story about his experience at a Microsoft training programs.   They approached the problem by first reviewing  their frustrations:

  1. Worked with CIO to create a single PO
  2. Filtered student candidates to make sure employees would find value in the course
  3. Gave a guarantee if students hopped jobs they would train the replacement worker

The training was a commodity. However Lee was able to close the deal for 30-50% higher than the competition. Because of the PO they locked out the competition.

Sales Differentiator Process

  • Meet as a team
  • Understand the common needs of prospective clients
  • Focus on stories you share, how do they differentiate
  • Understand the benefits of your features that separate
  • List all the things that makes you unique

Links to Find Lee Salz

Website: www.SalesArchitects.com

Twitter: @salesarchitects

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/leesalz

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SalesManagementMinute

FREE Gift

Download the  differentiators poster at:   https://www.salesarchitects.com/white-paper/differentiatorsposter/

How To Stop Cold Calling Using Free Social Media

On Wednesday December 9th we’ll be holding the FINAL webinar for 2015.   You will learn

  • Why you need to build a relationship BEFORE calling a prospect

  • How to use LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to find Prospects for FREE

  • What you need to say and write to generate interest and find the PERFECT client.

  • How to manage Social Media and focus on the #1 goal when Prospecting

The Sales Babble Webinar  will be held on

Wednesday,  December 9th :
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12 PM Central Time
1 PM Eastern Time
6 PM GMT

How To Stop Cold Calling Using Free Social Media.  Sign up today!